1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light sources of the type employed to illuminate semiconductors during the process of manufacturer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cluster mount for concentrating light being emitted from a plurality of high intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore illuminators for semiconducting manufacturing equipment have employed fluorescent or incandescent white light which may be supplied directly or though lucite tubes or fiber optic bundles. While such white light sources have been able to be flood a focus white light on the semiconductor chips being processed, the light and/or the light source has consumed excesses or mounts of power and generated heat in the workplace.
Experiments using light emitting diodes as light illumination sources have resulted in highly mixed results. Light from light emitting diodes has a narrow wave length varying from various reds in the long wave length spectrum to greens associated with the short wave lengths and narrow spectrum intensity characteristics.
The human eye is more responsive to a broad spectrum of colors which define white light. However, electronic pattern recognition systems have been found to be responsive to narrow spectrum wave lengths of light which fall in the yellow to orange spectrum of colors. The reason for the difference appears to reside in the fact that pattern recognition systems depend upon recognition of different gray scale intensities which can be easily detected within the narrow spectrum light sources such as that produced by LEDs. Presently, there are not commercial available LED light sources which have sufficient candle power to be used with commercially available pattern recognition systems of the type used on semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as wire bonders and mask aligners, etc. Such pattern recognition systems precisely locate a dye or a wafer before performing an operational step in the manufacture of the semiconductor part.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a novel illuminator for semiconductor manufacturing equipment which would be particularly suited for use with automatic pattern recognition system equipment.